Brothers as Allies Research Study

The New York State Department of Health and Cornell University are partnering on a research grant funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The purpose of the grant is to evaluate Brothers as Allies, a program that is part of the Boys Council curricula developed by One Circle Foundation.

What is the program?

The Brothers as Allies program is a strengths-based, group approach to promote boys' and young men's safe and healthy passage through pre-teen and adolescent years. By "strengths-based" we mean that it focuses on building on boys' natural strengths rather than on addressing their weaknesses. Designed especially for middle school boys, the program will help boys learn how to talk with people in a respectful and positive way, how to understand other people's perspectives, and what it means to be a healthy, balanced man.

What is the study about?

The purpose of the study is to see if participating in the Brothers as Allies program makes a difference in how boys feel and act. For researchers to figure this out, some youth participants in this study will be part of the Brothers as Allies program and some will be part of regular afterschool or youth programming. We cannot know if this program works unless we do this kind of study. All boys, even if they are not in the Brothers as Allies program, will be asked to take a total of four surveys over the course of nine months. Each survey will take about 30-40 minutes. All boys who take the survey will receive money or a gift certificate for each survey they take.

What is the goal of this research project?

We are running this study to see whether this program will help boys develop healthy relationships. If it works, we expect that the Brothers as Allies program will increase how comfortable boys feel with themselves and other people, and that this will, in turn, lead to less sexual harassment and abuse. Our hope is that the program will be shown to be effective, and that many other boys will be able to participate in the future.

More Information

If you have general questions about the study, contact Janis Whitlock (Cornell University), (607) 254-2894.

Parents who have been contacted about this study can also call or text Amanda Purington (Cornell University) at (607) 216-8794 or email Sara Kamoroske (Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York) with questions or to opt your son out of the study.

We are grateful to program providers supported by ACT for Youth who are partners in this study.